DALEVILLE, Ind. — An Italian company has announced it will invest $1.3 million into Daleville for a manufacturing facility that will employ up to 25 people.

Filtrec S.p.A., an Italian-based manufacturer of filters and filter elements, announced plans to locate its first U.S. operation in Indiana. The agreement is the result of the state of Indiana developing international relationships.

Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and Delaware County officials announced after a three-day economic development trip to Italy that the company will invest $1.3 million to establish a Daleville facility in Daleville that will serve as the company’s North American headquarters.

Filtrec S.p.A, which is headquartered in the Province of Bergamo in northern Italy, will establish Filtrec North America at 12690 W. County Road 550 S. in Daleville in order to expand its market and supply to North America. The property is near Ind. 67, just north of Sam Pierce Chevrolet.

The company initially will occupy a 5,800-square-foot facility, with plans to double or triple its footprint in the next five years. The facility will include office space for the company’s executive and sales teams as well as 4,300 square feet of state-of-the-art manufacturing space.

This will allow the company to produce hydraulic filter elements and filter assemblies for applications on suction, pressure and return lines of hydraulic systems.

As part of its growth, the company plans to create 25 new, high-wage jobs by the end of 2022 and has already added two positions in Daleville. Filtrec S.p.A. anticipates hiring for sales, quality, administrative, technical and executive positions in late 2019.

Bill Walters, executive director of the ECI Regional Planning District and a Daleville Town Council member, said the announcement came after a lot of relationship fostering.

"This proves that you don’t have to wave a big check to attract business," Walters said in an interview. Local officials worked with company officials to help them figure out the different aspects of moving their business to the area.

Walters said that new businesses are starting to call Daleville home because of efforts by Daleville and Delaware County to improve the quality of life for residents, therefore making it attractive to potential businesses.

"We’ve put all our focus to make the community attractive," Walters said. "We’ve built and changed the quality of life in the area and they like the changes we’ve done."

The heads of Filtrec agreed.

“There were many factors that led Filtrec S.p.A. to choose Indiana for its North American headquarters,” said Sergio Modina, CEO of Filtrec S.p.A. in a press release. “For one thing, multiple well-known Italian companies have invested in Indiana, and those investments have proven successful."

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered the company up to $275,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company’s job creation plans. The credits are performance-based, meaning the company is not eligible to claim incentives until workers are hired.

The Delaware County Redevelopment Commission also offered incentives up to $12,500 at the request of Delaware County Economic Development and Redevelopment.